Desperate Freedom
by Felinephoenix
Summary: A Taxxon-Controller is given the power to morph. Yet more than that, the power to escape his hunger and be free. Rated R for graphic description of gore and adult situations. Chapter 2 is up!
1. One :: Freedom

Author's Note: This is inspired by a very weird dream I had last night involving a girl who could morph into a Taxxon. As you can see, I didn't quite stick with my dream. (Then again Sailorsaturn also killed the girl in my dream, so yeah...) This is probably one of the most graphic fics I've ever written, but I really like it a lot.  
Yes, I realize the Taxxon in this story is probably too smart for a regular Taxxon. But who ever said that if free of their hunger, Taxxons wouldn't be smart? Also, the reason that Irijill became a Taxxon-Controller will be revealed in the next chapter, along with why the Taxxon calls Irijill an "it". I really hope you guys like this, even if it _is_ really graphic. 

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Desperate Freedom  
Chapter 1

So... 

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So hungry! 

No eat. The Yeerk inside, Yeerk which had promised meat, said no. Meat was not allowed, not for now.  
There would be no food because we had something important to do.  
So hungry...so very hungry...the Yeerk dragged me to the pool. We would have meat, Yeerk promised, after we did our important thing. Maybe even lots of meat.  
I had become familiar with the Yeerk Pool. Even familiar with the Yeerk. The Yeerk did not do much talking to me anymore, like it had at first. At first the Yeerk had talked a lot -- mostly to itself. Trying to remain an honorable Yeerk. That is what it told me. I never knew how that had turned out; all I knew was that it no longer talked to me.  
Except for now. For times when we could have no meat, like when we were on the Bug Fighters. The Yeerk piloted a Bug Fighter using my body. Did this have something to do with that? No matter, **so hungry!**  
The Yeerk screamed that we could have no meat again and we kept going forward. I saw something...no, a _someone_ standing in front of the pier. Andalite, but not Andalite. I had seen an Andalite before when in the Bug Fighter. This was not an Andalite. I was certain of it. 

That is Visser One. The Yeerk said to me off-handedly. 

The Yeerk was both excited and terrified at seeing the Visser, I could sense that. It was aware that the Visser had summoned it for some kind of honor, but the Yeerk was also horrified at the possibility of invoking the Visser's anger. So was I.  
Irijill-Two-Nine-Six. I was almost worried you would not have the control to come here. The Visser said.  
No, Visser. I am in control of my host. The Yeerk managed to answer, I could feel the fear it felt.  
I shared that fear. Even I knew that it was unwise to attack an Andalite. I feared the tailblade of the Visser.  
Perhaps that tailblade could provide me with the meat the Yeerk had promised? I hopefully wondered.  
Visser One wouldn't dare degrade himself like that. The Yeerk sniped at me inside of my own head. 

Then the Visser addressed all at the Pool. My fellow Yeerks! You are witnessing a moment of history! Irijill-Two-Nine-Six will be the first ever Taxxon-Controller to be given the morphing power! For dutifully piloting and eventually shooting down the ship of the traitor Irijill-Five-Three-Two; I give you the ability to morph. You will have the honor of being the first of an experiment to rid our Yeerk brethren of the foul Taxxon hunger! The Visser was almost beaming with the apparent genius of his idea. 

Experiment? I heard my Yeerk say softly to itself. The Yeerk seemed to be contemplating something. I felt the Yeerk's anger at being used like this, as some sort of test. I also felt some of that anger, though I no longer cared very much. I knew that if something happened to the Yeerk I would be affected. But unlike the Yeerk, I felt a sort of hope. If the Yeerk could morph...then perhaps, perhaps the _hunger_ would end.  
I hoped and I even begged my Yeerk to take the offer. _Please_ let the hunger end...even if I had no control over my own body it would not matter to me. I had never had control of the hunger. It was tearing me up even now. If I were free of the hunger, nothing would matter to me. Even being killed by this Visser did not matter to me.  
The Yeerk had not yet reached a decision. Its repulsion at the assumption it would willingly agree to be a test subject was still gnawing at it. Then the Visser spoke.  
Irijill-Two-Nine-Six, please place your claw on the Escafil Device. The Visser told my Yeerk.  
Then without hesitating it did just that. I felt a strange sensation pass through my body -- a sort of tingling. It wasn't painful, like both I and the Yeerk had expected it to be.  
Now, Irijill, go to the human feeding area and acquire a few morphs, then you will report back to me. 

The human feeding area had always been a hard place for me to go to. There was so much _food!_  
Surprisingly, I heard the Yeerk groan inside my head at the thought of food.  
So we were both very aware that it had been so long since we had last eaten...  
The first morph capable Taxxon-Controller. The Yeerk said to itself more than it did to me. Some honor.  
It was still angry over that?! I could not possibly believe this. I _knew_ that the Yeerk felt the hunger just as sharply as I did. In many respects it was as much a slave to it as I was. So why, _why_ could it not see that we had been provided a way out of this hunger, even if only for short amounts of time?  
For one, I have more self-respect than you, you vile worm. The Yeerk spat back in reply to me. I was used to it. The Yeerk often would say such things to me when we were hungry. 

It no longer bothered me very much. It wouldn't have bothered me at all, except that the Yeerk was right.  
I had sold my own freedom for meat. Not that it was really freedom in any true sense of the word, but that had been what I'd done nonetheless. I was one of many who had betrayed The Living Hive -- my own Mother and Father. I had betrayed myself and any semblance of freedom I'd had for meat. Just like any Taxxon, I was _that_ bound to my hunger.  
Then I heard the Yeerk yet again. Secondly, don't you realize that this is more torture, you idiot?! More than the hunger! Don't you _understand_? We will be free of that hunger only to be forced to experience it _again!_ Visser One will not allow us to become free of the hunger! He will only use us to lure more of my brother Yeerks and you vile Taxxons to this sad fate! The Yeerk was screaming at me, and I felt its outrage and anger flowing through my body. I realized, only too late, that it was right. This would not be the freedom of the hunger that I had dreamed of. The Yeerk obviously knew this as well as I did. So I wondered...  
Why had the Yeerk accepted to this new situation? 

Because. The Yeerk replied solemnly. Because I couldn't resist to be free of the hunger, if only for a few hours. Then with a wistful tone, it added I'm sorry that you got stuck with me. You don't deserve this.  
I was too shocked by the Yeerk's compassion to reply to what it had said. Instead I just let it drag me into the human feeding area. There was no one present inside of it, though whether they had cleared it because of my Yeerk and I or because of the scent, I could not tell. Yes, the scent was overpowering. There was a small handful of animals lined up inside of the feeding area -- near where the human things called dishes were placed. I was not unaccustomed to viewing gore or seeing other creatures being treated horribly, but even my Yeerk thought this was a bit much. I full-heartedly agreed.  
The animals had all been placed into lidless glass cages, mostly labeled in human language that neither I nor my Yeerk could read -- we Taxxons have no written language. There were two kinds of winged animals that I assumed would be used for scouting. They were not moving, and there was bright blood coating their small bodies. Depressingly there were still small feathers still sticking to their bodies, but they were otherwise void of them.  
My Taxxon senses knew these creatures were dead. I wanted to eat them. 

I could not do that, no matter how powerful my hunger. The Yeerk desperately fought against it and there was only a small fact that kept me from devouring the pitiful creature -- _by acquiring it, I could escape my hunger._  
The Yeerk placed one of my arms into the lid and focused for about a second on turning into the animal. Into the thought of no longer feeling the hunger. We acquired both of the dead flying creatures.  
Of course, they were more animals present. Small earth creatures called insects. I had eaten one once, with a hard brown shell. It had tasted very strange to me -- it was crunchy. I had never had something crunchy before. One of those was inside a cage.  
The Yeerk groaned again. I need that morph, so _please_ stop thinking about it. It begged me.  
I tried my best to do so even though my stomach was screaming from the hunger. The Yeerk managed to touch the creature long to acquire it, but in a moment later my instinct won over and we ate it. The Yeerk seemed slightly relieved at having eaten something, though I suddenly began wondering what the other creatures in the room tasted like. It was horrible.  
We also acquired another kind of insect. This one was black, and had eyes similar to mine. I noticed that it ate through a tube, as did the Yeerk. It's almost as disgusting as us. My Yeerk said, attempting to joke. 

Finally the Yeerk used my eyes to look around the room for one last morph. I noticed it lying in the cage before the Yeerk had -- a sleek, long creature covered in scales that were black and a light brown. It made me think, vaguely, of my own body. It was similar in a way...but, I felt assured, it did not feel hunger as I did.  
Would you like to acquire it? The Yeerk asked me. Once again I felt stunned -- the Yeerk had never before asked me if _I_ would like to do anything. I was so surprised I did not answer for a moments until the Yeerk snapped at me. Well, would you or wouldn't you?  
Yes, I told the Yeerk. Yes, I would very much like to acquire that animal. So we did.  
With a total of 5 acquired animals, my Yeerk had decided we had gotten enough of them and we left the feeding area to report to the Visser. 

Irijill-Nine-Two-Six, I see that you have returned. The Visser remarked as the Yeerk slithered his way towards him. Yes, Visser. I have come back to you. My Yeerk said. The Visser's next remark was really rather smug.  
You have an amazing amount of control over your host, Irijill-Nine-Two-Six. I do believe this experiment of ours may work after all. The Visser honestly believed that? That was a shock to both me and the Yeerk.  
Yes, Visser. I will not disappoint you. My Yeerk said and I noticed that his voice sounded oddly controlled.  
To me, he said something else entirely. Get ready to run.  
Run? I was completely confused. What was it talking about? Where could we run to, and why were we running?  
Him. We're running away from Visser One. Away from this hunger. Is that all right with you? The Yeerk asked.  
Yes, I told it. I had absolutely no objections to running from the Visser, or from the hunger. But how...?  
Morphing, you idiot worm. I would personally suggest using one of the -- the winged creatures. The Yeerk explained, and I noticed it's voice had choked up on the mention of the flying creatures. It could not forget them.  
Irijill-Two-Nine-Six, I would like for you to demonstrate your new ability to all those assembled here. Visser One said. For the first time I noticed that a large number of high-ranking human-Controllers and even a few more Hork-Bajir-Controllers were watching the Yeerk and I. This did not help our chances of escape.  
You really think so? The Yeerk asked me as he began to morph, choosing to take the form of one of the winged creatures. Then fate decided to throw the two of us, the Yeerk and I, a chance.  
One of the human-Controllers watching us had suddenly started to shake violently, and she collapsed to the ground holding her head. Then she broke out into frenzied screaming. "I AM ERIN!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. "I AM ERIN! ERIN SCHINER! I AM A FREE HUMAN BEING! I AM FREE!" The Controller had lost all control over her host. The Visser was outraged. "Esrith-Three-Nine-Ten! Control your host! _Control your host!_" Without a moment's hesitation, the Visser raised his tailblade. "I AM FR--" The Visser silenced the girl by stabbing his tailblade directly into her back, an action that if not fatal, had severely harmed the girl.  
She screamed so loud it echoed throughout the whole Pool. The thing I most noticed, though, was the smell of blood. 

I had no control over my actions, nor did my Yeerk. It had stopped morphing the moment the girl had taken control. We were now mostly Taxxon, and already slithering towards the injured human. With the last shred of sanity I had left, I prayed that the girl would already be dead.  
With a sickening sound, the Visser removed his tailblade from the girl's back. She landed onto the ground right in front of the Yeerk and I. Fresh meat, all ours for the taking. Desperately, both the Yeerk and I were trying to resist the lure of the fresh and new meat. We could not.  
I have no way to know for certain whether or not the girl was dead when we began to feed. I will not lie about that.  
The thing I do remember was that her eyes were closed, and that she did not appear to be breathing. I assume, I hope against all hope, that she was dead. It may seem strange to hear of a Taxxon regretting what he has eaten, but if there was ever one feed I wish I could have avoided -- that was it.  
Not only because I regretted devouring a poor girl who only wanted her freedom, though I greatly regret that. I regret it even more because of the action my Yeerk had decided to take while we fed. 

The Yeerk had acquired her. 

When we were finished with our meal -- which had only lasted about a minute -- the Visser seemed pleased.  
All of you, take note of that! Anyone who cannot control his host will now become food for the Taxxons!  
It was a unanimous, shared thought between my Yeerk and I -- _what had we done?_  
And now, when we going to escape the Visser and this all-consuming hunger! What had we done?  
Now, Irijill-Nine-Two-Six, please continue your previous activity. The Visser commanded.  
So the Yeerk did, once again commanding my body to morph into the shape of the flying creature. Was the Yeerk still planning to escape? Even after what we had done?  
More than ever. The Yeerk said, it's voice thick with regret. If it doesn't work... The Yeerk let the sentence hang there. I knew in my heart was it wanted to do. The Yeerk wanted to die, and it was asking my permission.  
No. That was my reply to the Yeerk. No, I would not die. I would not let it die, either. We would escape, the two of us. There was no time to consider death -- we had to focus on escaping and that was it. No other option!  
All right, then. We may as well try it. The Yeerk said, seeming encouraged by my rebelling against death.  
The morphing had almost finished, a process I had not really paid that much attention to.  
The moment we were done morphing, I _knew._ Not by looking at myself, but because I did not feel it.  
Hunger...the hunger was gone. I did not feel the hunger! It is an indescribable sensation, feeling freedom that I did at that moment. The Yeerk was so amazed that he had lost his control over me for a moment. It quickly snapped back, however, with the Visser's words. 

Irijill-Two-Nine-Six, would you now kindly demonstrate? The Visser teasingly asked. He assumed the Yeerk could not move in the body of this animal.  
Having seen winged Earth creatures fly before, I knew that involved moving their wings. The Yeerk immediately used my memory of that and attempted to flap...a harder action than I had assumed. However, it seemed to have worked. Then I felt a surprising new sensation -- the instincts of a bird. Of course! The Yeerk said to me.  
This creature should know how to fly. The Yeerk said to himself. So the Yeerk began relying on the bird's instincts, and we had flown over the Visser's head. That was a little higher than he'd have liked.  
Irijill-Two-Nine-Six, that is enough. Come down now, or I will feed _you_ to the Taxxon-Controllers, morph capable or not. The Visser commanded. The Yeerk laughed suddenly. As if they could catch me, Visser.  
My Yeerk's comment had severely angered the Visser, and we began flying faster than we could imagine. Where was the best escape? I remembered that there were windows inside of the human feeding area, so the Yeerk flew in that direction. 

I was certain we were going to die, though the Yeerk didn't even seem to notice my concerns. There were human-Controllers firing at us, and Hork-Bajir were madly slashing the air. I'm not sure whether or not I take pride in knowing we had stabbed a few of the Hork-Bajir in the eyes with our talons. Nevertheless, we were suddenly inside of the human feeding area. On seeing it with the eyes of this flying creature (I later learned it was a hawk) I suddenly found the place disgusting, especially the dead animals lying inside of the glass cages.  
Then flying at a ridiculous speed, I realized what the Yeerk intended to do. He was going to smash through the window -- assuming it didn't kill us. It was times like this that I regretted not being in control of my body. 

I heard it then, the most beautiful sound I had ever heard in my whole life. The sound of glass shattering. 

We were free. 


	2. Two :: Bonding

Author's Note: Part of me can't believe I'm actually continuing this story...but I am! In this chapter we get to know a little more about Irijill and how it got into the situation it's in. We may come into contact with some other actual characters in a few chapters...but I'm not telling yet! You'll just have to read it! (I'm so mean, aren't I?) Oh, and I made up a lot of things about the Taxxon world and the idea that Yeerks have are, ah, antomatically impaired came from The Perspective, a fic which really inspired me a lot in this story. It may be slash, but it's one of the best fics I have ever read so go check it out. 'Kay, aside from the reader responses, I think I've said everything I need to. Enjoy!  
Warning: There is a very graphic and violent scene in this chapter. For spoilers' sake, I won't tell what it is, but if I'd gone any farther, this may have been NC-17. 

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Desperate Freedom Chapter 2  
Bonding

We flew the woods at an immense speed, the Yeerk and I. In this form I could hear the sizzling sound of Dracon Beams being fired. The sound was much sharper than it would have been in my Taxxon shape.  
The Yeerk had decided to rely on the bird's instincts to get the two of us as far away as possible. Through the mass of vibrant green, we flew. Dodging the red beams that would spell our doom. At some point the Yeerks would have to give up their chase. There is no doubt that the Hork-Bajir are fast and strong creatures, but they could not have outrun a bird of prey flying for its very freedom. A free bird, that is exactly what I was.  
TSEEEW! Only mere millimeters from our left wing. We had to fly faster! We _had_ to!  
What? I heard the Yeerk's voice in my head. It was teasing me. You don't trust this creature? Don't worry, worm, it knows what it's doing. _You trust it to know how to dodge a Dracon? You're insane! _I wailed at the Yeerk. That just may be the truth. However, you don't have much of a choice. You're going to have to trust _me_. I did not respond to that. Part of my mind was screaming "Trust you? How could I ever trust _you?_"  
This Yeerk had been, after all, my tormentor for longer than I cared to remember. Compared to other Yeerks I knew of, mine was not a particularly vicious master. That did not mean by any stretch of the imagination that it was kind to me. The few times that my Yeerk had bothered to acknowledge my existence, it was usually to verbally batter me or replay my worst memory...the day I had given up my freedom for the sake of meat.  
_Trust_ this Yeerk? If it had not been for the events of this day, I never would have done it.  
The Yeerk, however, had helped me become free of the hunger. For that I owed it everything -- even my trust. 

Despite that, it was hard to forget. Unbearably hard to forget. Then, unbidden and unwanted by either one of us came a memory. It had been early on, not longer after I had been infested. Maybe a month or so in human time.  
The Yeerk and I had been doing some menial work. Checking the performance of a few Bug Fighters. My mind had been on food -- I hadn't eaten in a few hours -- and the Yeerk was desperately trying to keep itself focused on its duty. _How?_ I had thought. _How can it do that? Doesn't it realize that it's been so...so long...so long since we last ate? How does it not feel the hunger?_ I had been raging to myself, but of course the Yeerk could hear all of my thoughts, and I immediately regretted them. I don't feel it? The Yeerk's voice hissed at me.  
You disgusting flubber and meat, of course I feel it! You ignorant worm...you vile insect! Whatever happened to my pride? My brother Yeerks, what they must think...you worthless creature! You spineless coward! Freedom for meat? Helpless in my own mind against the Yeerk's half-mad rambling, I could do nothing but stand aside as it continued. Not long after this incident I began to toughen towards my captor's words, but at the time I still felt their full impact, and worse than that, I accepted it as fact. I _was_ just a stinking, spineless coward of a worm who had sold everything to quiet the roaring in his stomach. Everything for a quest that had been impossible.  
My Yeerk couldn't be lying about this one fact. It was more advanced than I was, smarter and more cunning. If it thought so, I had to be the gutless worm it accused me of being. There was no other explanation.  
After that the Yeerk had also forced upon my memory of the day that I had scuttled away from The Hive, so desperate I was for it to end. I had come upon a Hork-Bajir at one of the storage stations and begged, _begged_ for him to let the hunger end. Give me to the Yeerks, I pleaded to him. I would have done anything.  
I did just that, giving up my freedom.  
You see? Coward. It's unacceptable, being forced to live in a coward such as you. The Yeerk had said after replaying my darkest memory.  
That was also the day it had stopped tormenting me. Instead it refused to talk, though I could still hear its thoughts and it could hear mine. I suspected that my Yeerk was slowly losing its sanity, but I never asked. It didn't matter. Nothing did matter at that time. The Yeerk had confirmed it for me that day. I was a coward, plain and simple.  
Then the memory ended and neither one of us said a word. We kept on flying, quietly now. The Hork-Bajir were starting to slow and their aim was getting more erratic -- a sign of their growing exhaustion.  
It was a few moments later when I heard it. A small, almost inaudible sorrowed thought coming from my captor. I'm sorry. 

It wasn't my intention to hurt you that much, worm. I am sorry for my actions... The Yeerk stopped, as if thinking about what to say next to me. Then there was one loose firing of Dracon and we began to haul tail once again. There was one fault with this winged body. We had no ability to look behind us, and see if the Yeerks were really slowing or not. Would we just fly and fly until we dropped dead from exhaustion? The thought was not a pleasant one. At least, I consoled myself, I would not die feeling the hunger. There was some comfort in that.  
Not nearly as much comfort as I felt from the possibility of living without the hunger, however. Speaking from a purely logical perspective, the odds of that were not so great. The Yeerk and I had only one real advantage, and that was flight. Our predator had the advantages of numbers, long-enduring troops, and advanced weaponry.  
Funny to think they were using that for only one Taxxon, even a Taxxon carrying the freedom of his people.  
You're not _just_ Taxxon. I heard the Yeerk snap at me in irritation. I'm the one in control here.  
That was true -- the Yeerk was in control. I was not the one carrying the burden of freedom, it was. The thought was slightly revolting, trusting the future of your species to another, an enemy species at that. Were we insane?  
Yes, worm. We no longer hold sanity. The Yeerk commented again, a smug tone in its voice. It was irritating. I had not quite realized exactly how smug my Yeerk was until it actually began talking to me as something almost like an equal. It almost made me wish it would stop talking to me.  
An equal? The Yeerk asked me. Its tone was not mocking, more curious than anything else. Taxxon and Yeerk?  
The thought was definitely something to ponder. _Well, aren't we partners in crime?_ I asked the Yeerk. It laughed. A very strange thing to hear, since I had never heard my Yeerk express joy in the whole time it had been inside of me. Yes, definitely! Taxxon and Yeerk as equals...well, isn't this unexpected, worm?  
I had to agree. It was beyond anything from the most unimaginable ideas my mind had ever developed. A Taxxon/Yeerk partnership. What kind of strange being would think up such a thing as _that_?  
Speaking of thinking..._Where are we headed?_ I asked the Yeerk.  
The Yeerk for a moment surrendered all control to the bird before it answered me sheepishly. I really don't know.  
Well, wasn't that wonderful? Perhaps we should head to the human establishments. The Yeerk said. It would be unwise for them to send in a horde of Hork-Bajir into a city, no? A hawk, however, would be no problem.  
So then we decided to fly to what we could see, with our increased vision, as the possible edge of a city. 

I will admit I don't remember all that much about our flight to the city. It had seemed to last forever, though it was probably only an hour in actual human time. Then again, time for Taxxon goes by incredibly fast. Our planet has a very fast orbit around our Mother Nova...our name for what humans call the Sun. Part of that speed also has to do with the facts that Taxxons do not generally live very long. I only vaguely remember my own parents.  
My mother was there to feed me past my stage of near-incapacitation. What I remember was the warm that emanated from her in my early life. I remember some of my father, as he played with all of us Grubs. I belonged to a group of seventeen Grubs, only of which a few are alive and most gone to the Yeerks.  
I am certain that my father was eaten. I have never, and never want, to ask about my mother. They were both dead long by the time I myself reached full growth. So, as you see, life is not the longest thing to a Taxxon. 

The Hork-Bajir chased us we reached the end of the forest, the Yeerk and I. Some of the Hork-Bajir had quite before that, too exhausted to go on. I had no doubt they would be as good as dead.  
We need to find a place to land, worm. The Yeerk informed me. What was it asking me for? How would I know a good place to land, it wasn't as if I knew much about humans.  
The Yeerk seemed irritated. I should have known. It seemed to saying this to itself more than me.  
Well, where would there likely be few humans? It asked. Confused still as to why my Yeerk was asking for my assistance, I intelligently informed it I had no idea. The Yeerk decided to stop probing me for answers and continued to fly around in search of a secluded spot. What form should we choose next? The Yeerk asked me.  
Was it trying to strike up a conversation with me? Now I'd seen everything.  
What's wrong with talking, worm? Besides, if it weren't for my arrogance, maybe I could have avoided this whole mess. Despite my pride, I'm not beyond talking to you. The Yeerk told me as it still scouted out a place to demorph. 

Funny how things change. Not long ago, My Yeerk would have refused to acknowledge my existence. Now it was trying to sincerely befriend me. It was in control in my body, it would be foolish of me not to try and return this slight compassion, and to be honest, I didn't want to not return it. Yet, I was confused. What did the Yeerk mean by "avoiding this whole mess"?  
I was talking about becoming a Taxxon-Controller. I was doing well in the hierarchy, but...did you know I was a Sub-Visser once? It was just that, I couldn't bring myself to... The Yeerk paused to recollect its thoughts before continuing, though I also suspected the Yeerk didn't want to remember. Yeerks have no gender, so to speak. When we procreate in our regular form, we will die. It's a simple fact of life. The Yeerk laughed in my head -- bitterly and remorsefully. I didn't want to die. It told me.  
At the time, I was Sub-Visser Thirty-Three. It was during our infestation of the Nahara when I received the notice that I was to procreate in a few of our weeks. To this day, I'm not certain why...maybe I peeved some Visser.  
The Yeerk took a deep sigh and searched its memories as it continued its story. This is nothing I would ever publicly admit to, but I panicked. And worm, if you so much as hint to any living thing of that, I will find a way to slice you into many, many pieces. The Yeerk assured me. I laughed a bit at that, but a nervous sort of laugh.  
As I was saying, I panicked. I thought to myself...perhaps I'd take on the form of a Nahara, something, _anything_! So I stole myself a Bug Fighter and tried heading for the nearest planet I could find. Personally, I'll admit I've always been something of a prodigy with Fighters, so I thought if anyone could pull off this crazy plan, it would be me. No such luck, since I had been stupid enough to steal a new model of Fighter being designed solely for use against the Andalite fleet. My brother Yeerks caught up with me soon enough, as you can imagine.  
Aha! The Yeerk cried out in triumph. It's a waste disposal area! Humans hate these kinds of places.  
The Yeerk cruised down onto the filth-covered cement and checked for anyone in sight. There was no one. 

__

As for the rest of your story? I pestered my Yeerk. It made a rude sound to me. Oh shut up, worm.  
No, I would not shut up. After all, it had been the Yeerk who had opened up to me, hadn't it? The Yeerk grumbled.  
Well, I had been caught. Instead of sentencing me to death for my treason, the Council decided that I should be severely punished for my recklessness instead. They decided to make me into a Taxxon-Controller...after all, if I escaped like that, it wouldn't matter. I'd be in a useless Taxxon body! And they had a fresh Taxxon begging to be infested.   
_Me_, I thought with a sinking feeling deep inside of my heart. So, the Yeerk had been condemned to being inside of my body for wanting to live...  
Don't blame yourself, after all, I was the one to run off with a new fighter. The Yeerk said to try and cheer me up. Speaking of which, we're going to demorph now. The Yeerk told me. Then right in broad daylight, in the middle of an empty alleyway, a hawk began to sprout out spindling legs and long claw-like arms. Of course, we mustn't forget the large red eyes and the rest of my disgusting Taxxon body. It took close to two minutes for the changes to finish, and I nearly cried within my head. The hunger was back.  
_Fight it!_ I heard the Yeerk cry out, though to itself, or me I never knew. The Yeerk scanned my brain for the list of morphs we had acquired. Snake, fly, roach, hawk, falcon, and human. In another moment, the Yeerk looked at one of my claws as it began to grow pink, rosy human flesh.  
_I don't want to do this._ I moaned to the Yeerk. Any morph but the human, any but the girl I -- we -- had eaten.  
Neither do I, The Yeerk whispered to me. But humans are the most common creatures here, and we have more of a chance of surviving if we can blend in. If I had been in my own body, and if it were possible, I would have vomited. However I had no control over my own body and in this case, I didn't want that control.  
The remains of my clawed hand melted away into one of flesh covered only by thick protein. My head changed shape from one of a gaping, teeth-filled hole, to a more attractive one topped with shoulder-length black hair.  
All of a sudden, it seemed very cold in this alleyway. I covered my bare human chest with bare arms in an attempt to gain some warmth. Clothes. My Yeerk said. I forgot about clothes! We're going to need to make do.  
I hoped we could "make do" soon. It was not the most comfortable feeling, being so vulnerable in this weak body. It was also very cold to me, as the Yeerk had without knowing it, landed us in a damp alleyway. I shivered to the bone. Besides, wasn't it a dangerous predicament for a human to be in the nude? 

Probably. My Yeerk commented. At least we're alone here, no one should spot us for a while.  
The Yeerk led my human-morphed body towards one of the foul smelling bins inside of the alleyway and with the human hands, grasped the lid and threw it open. Without a moment's doubt, my Yeerk dived into the bin of trash and began to hunt around. Worm, a request? The Yeerk asked. What it did want, I had to wonder.  
You can see out these eyes as well as me, so keep watch, would you? The Yeerk requested of me.  
_You're giving me control?_ I asked, incredulous. Oh, no. The Yeerk laughed. I'm just asking for you to be alert. _I_ need your body to search. I felt a wave of rage overtake me. How dare the Yeerk say something like that? How could it say something like that? Sneaky, backstabbing, grub!  
Backstabbing? If it weren't for me, where do you think you would be, you starving worm? The Yeerk shot back.  
_Dead, of course. Or back home, where I should have stayed!_ I yelled in my mind to the Yeerk. The rational part of my mind reminded me, told me, that there was no use in arguing to my Yeerk like this. I had stopped listening to that rational side, though, fighting and venting all of my anger at the Yeerk. Anger at myself, still, for the decisions I had made and where they had landed me. Anger at being a voluntary prisoner in my own mind, a prisoner to a cruel stranger. All of this, some the Yeerk's fault, and some my own, I fired at it.  
I wish you had died. Then perhaps the Council would have killed me. The Yeerk commented with bitterness.  
Feeling empty, I had nothing to say. I had struck a nerve somewhere inside of my Yeerk. It closed all of its thoughts to me. Sinking into a familiar feeling of defeat, I decided to follow the Yeerk's advice and be a lookout.  
After all, without any control of my body, what other purpose did I serve? Then in despair I wondered what purpose would I ever serve? Then I just blocked out my own thoughts and despair, watching around as much as possible, which wasn't much considering the Yeerk's digging through the trash had me looking at bags of garbage.  
Then I felt something that made my blood run cold. Rough and dirty hands on my breasts.  
_Human!_ I screamed. The Yeerk seemed to snap back to attention, whirling the human body around to look at our attacker. An old man dressed in overalls and a plaid shirt that had without a doubt seen better days.  
"We-eel." The old man whistled, and both the Yeerk and I flared up in outraged anger. "Looky what we got here."  
The hick stepped towards us, and on instinct, the Yeerk moved the human body back closer to the garbage pails.  
Then the old man ran up to us with a speed I never would have guessed at, seized the Yeerk and I by the shoulders and slammed us hard against the metal tin. I felt a sharp pain and the uncomfortable sensation of something dripping down my back. The Yeerk did nothing...maybe it was in shock from what happened?  
Regardless, I was in control of my own body now and I needed to save myself. I now had a true focus for my anger and without a moment's abandon, I wrenched the old perverse hick off of me. Then with a dangerous glint in his eyes the old man drew out a knife -- a human weapon designed to cut the victim. He pinned me down again, this time against the rough cement with the knife to my neck. He licked his lips. "I like 'em feisty." He sneered.  
Unable to do anything else, I bit down hard and long on the man's hand. He yelped out in pain and the knife clattered onto the cement next to me. I tried to reach for it, but the man stepped down on my wrist. I screamed in pain and kicked the man straight in the jaw, but not hard enough to stop him from knocking me with the flat of the knife. I felt my hold on consciousness fading in and out as the man lowered down, sitting on me. 

Worm? Worm! I heard the Yeerk cry out as it came back into consciousness...about time.  
I felt myself lose my control over my body. I was still close to passing out, however, and it looked like the old hick was going to have his way with my Yeerk and I. To my surprise, I felt boiling anger from the Yeerk. It was angry for my sake? Wrenching one arm free, the Yeerk slammed a human fist against the old man's face, knocking _him_ to the ground off of us. Not forgetting what we needed to do, the Yeerk then pulled the man off of the ground by his shirt collar and slammed him hard on the edge of one of the garbage pails. He crumpled to the ground. Whether he was dead or merely unconscious I didn't know, nor did I really care. With a shocking steel mind, the Yeerk barely fought its disgust as it undid the buttons on the man's plaid shirt, forcibly wrenching it off of him. With a shudder of disgust coming from both of us, the Yeerk put on the shirt, which was large enough to cover our new human form. Then we ran like mice from that damned alleyway.  
It was about a block later that we passed out in front of a brick house. 

~~~~~~~~~~~ 

We awoke in a green room. Well, the walls were a medium kind of green. The Yeerk sat up, looking down at the sheets, which were covered in roses. Very nice by human standards, I'm sure, but strange to my Taxxon mind.  
No longer were we wearing the grime-covered plaid shirt, to both the Yeerk's relief and mine. Instead we had been put into a pink fleece overshirt. Thank Mother Nova.  
It was a few minutes later when the Yeerk spoke to me. Worm, are you all right? It asked.  
_Yes,_ I thought, I was just fine. Don't think that again. It said with a stern tone. _Think what?_  
That you don't have any use. We're partners now, remember? The Yeerk's voice was wavering. We need to rely on each other, worm. As much as I'm responsible for our escape, so are you, so don't ever think that again.  
My Yeerk began to cry. It was a human thing to shed tears, and something my Yeerk didn't seem to quite have control over. At first the sobs didn't quite escape, leaving as choking noises until the Yeerk began to sob and cry, shaking and gasping for breath as the tears fell from our eyes. As painful a process and it sounds, I think we both felt relieved. A strange thing it is, the way humans cleanse themselves of old emotion.  
_Why are you crying?_ I asked my Yeerk, feeling close to tears myself.  
I've never had someone to trust. My Yeerk told me. I've never had a friend.  
Friend. Yes, I thought with a rush of warmth spreading through me, Irijill-Nine-Two-Six was my friend. 

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Reader Response Time! (this is where you're supposed to clap and cheer, people!)

Aqua Illusion - See? I wrote more! So no more haunting me with the evil puppy dog eyes! It must be me, but I don't think I paid much attention to the swearing your story...then again, I watch Kevin Smith movies, so there you go.

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The Sulking Quetzel - Whoa, thanks for the compliments. I hope this was a decent second chapter.

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Myst - Yes, see, more chapters! **blink** What phrase are you talking about in your Stupid review, because I'm kind of lost. I'm not totally sure yet if Arbron is going to show up in the flesh, but I know he'll at least be mentioned. Yes, Esplin can be exceedingly stupid. Just you wait. Ack! Politics are scary, even fictional politics! And angst is fun, too!


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